Tamping-machine.



C. HAMBUECHEN.

TAMPING MACHINE.

APPUCATION man APR.29| 191s.

Patented July 3, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- a'i wewfoz Patented July 3,1917. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 C.HAMBUECHEN.

TAMPING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED APR-29,1916.

351 4:4 attorneys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARL HAMBUECHEN, OF BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO C. F. BURGESSLABORA- 'IORIES, F MADISON, WISCONSIN. A COR'PORATION OF WISCONSIN.

TAMPING-MACHINE.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 191 7.

I teries of the type commonly designated as 1 and dry cells, it iscustomary to compound a mixture of manganese dioxid and carbonaceousmaterial, such as graphite or carbon or a mixture of the two, and to wetthis mixture with a solution of ammonium chlorid and zinc chlorid untilthe mixture becomes somewhat coherent, about like'moist earth.

1 This material, commonly designated as battery mix, is compressedor'tamped about the carbon.rod of the battery, and subsequently servesas a depolarizer, as is well understood in the battery art. The materialis somewhat difficult to handle, for not only is it corrosive, but ittends to dry out and become lumpy. If tamped about the carbon rod undertoo light pressure, the granules composing the mass will not be insatisfactory electrical contact, and if ta'mped in position under tooheavy pressure, there will not be suflicient room for electrolyte withinthe pores of the mass. i

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tamping machinewherein this material known as battery mix may be quickly andeconomically assembled in a co herent mass enveloping a carbon rod, thismass being neither too dense nor too porous, of substantially" uniformdensity throughout and well adapted for its intend:

ed use. 1

The preferred embodiment, disclosed more in detail hereinafter, is welladapted tore- 4 sist the corrosive tendency of the mix and is soconstructed. as to expeditiously mold the mix under pressure, andthen'insert in the molded body a carbon rod adapted to serve therod-placing tool are mounted, together with means for raising: andlo'weringthe tur ret when these tools are in action? The ma chine alsocomprises an ejector. for remove chine.

" ing the finished product from the mold. and

the entire apparatus is so constructed and the elements thereoi are sorelated to one another, as to form a machine in which the variousoperations may be conveniently and quickly performed and by unskilledlabor. Other objects and advantages will be made clear by the followingdetailed description. In the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification,

Figure 1 is'a front elevation showing the general arrangement of allparts of the ap-v paratus wlth a portion thereof in section; f Fig.2'is' a view chiefly in section of a form of tamping tool that may beused in the machine Fig. 3 isla side elevation in section, taken alongthe line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4- is 1 view in section of a modified form of a mold;

Fig. 5 is a view in section of the upper end of one form of ejector; and

Fig. 6 is a View partly in section of an- I other form of tamping tool.I In the drawing, similar reference characters denote similar partsthroughout the several views thereof.

The machine consists of a base 10 adapted to be attached to a bench orany other means of support. Extending upwardly from the base is aframework composed of two bracket members li-1l which serve as a supportfor the upper movable parts of the machine. Attached to the base 10 aretwo depending members 12.-12 which serve as.

supports for the ejector portion of the ma- The lower ends of 12.12 maybe lconnectedby a cross-piece 13 which serves as 'a brace for thesemembers as well as a bearing for another part of the apparatus.

- Mounted upon the baseof the machine and attached thereto by screws 14is a j ig 15 with a removable front 16 which serves to grip and hold themold within which the electrode is formed. Also, threaded into the base'of the is a vertical rod 17 which actsas a stop f r the uppermovable'part of j the apparatus as will hereinafter appear.

Fig. 1 shows partly in section the construction of one form of mold. Inthis particular embodiment it is shown as composeid of outer casing 18preferably of castiron, on the inside of which is attached, by cans-bfintegral lugs, a linin 19 of Babbitt metal or any other metal which willglass or porcelain.

not he a-ted upon appreciably by the chemi- (:lls ('(Hlltlllllll m theactive and corrosive material oi. the electrode.., Fig. 1 shows an innerlining which may be composed of the mold is formed funnel-shapedinorder.

that the mixture may be iedflin more easily.

The molds for use on any one machine are. preferably all turnedto oneexternal diam eter to fit into the-jig 15, by iwhich arrangement onemachine will serye'the purpose-bf forming electrodes of various sizes.

represent guides attached to the front facesofthe uprights .11 11 ofthe. framework.

,th ereoiajhole 60 for apurpose which will head indicated collectivelyby 31. Attached ,ap'ear when the operation of the machine 'to'the rearof the head by bolts 32 is-a rack 33 adapted to be engaged by a pin1on34on; a a t"' ;moe n u b ar g the frame members 11- -11. Upon oneend ofthe shaft 35 is'mounte'd a handle-36%;- which the shaft may be rotatedto elevate" Within the guides is slidably mounted a or depress the'headj The leverage oi [the I handle on the shaft :35 may be altered bymeans of the set screw 37 Mountedjn an. aperture in theilmovable head 31is a rotatable turret 39 havingan extension passing through theaperture, and a 111113.40 screwed to the rear end of the extension inorder to retain the turret in place" on the head.

. At two points in the turret, preferably 90 apart, are drilled twosocketsadaiited to receive the tamping tool 41 and the carbon-placingtool 42. These tools are formed to fit within the sockets and are heldtherein by suitable set 'screws 43.

The tamping tool 41 may be formed as n shown in Fig. 6, or it may be ofthe con.- struction shown in Fig. 2. In the former figure it comprises ashank 44 adapted to fit in the socket of the turret, a portion 45forming a shoulder to engage the outer surface of the turret, and a mainportion 46 carrying at its lower end a-casing 47 of Babbitt metal or anyother'materialnot affected by the active material of the elecret.

trode. As explained in connection with the mold. glass or porcelain maybe used in ad dition to the Babbitt metal or in place thereof.- Thecasing 47 is formed Wit-ha small projection 48, the purpose of whichwill hereinafter appear. 1

Referring now to the form of tamping tool shown in Fig. 2, there is ashank 50 adapted to fit within the socket of the 'tur- This shank isformed with 'a socket extension 51, and the outer end of the inside ofthe socket is screw-threaded to receive a member 52 which serves as abearing for the While the last namedscrew 7 or to any other main rod 53of the tool. The upper end of 53 is formed with a shoulder ,54 to retainthe rod 53 in place Within the bearing 52. Between the upper surface of53fand the inner end of socket 51 is a flat The bearing member 52 isforme 'near' its upper portion in the form of-a hexagon in order that itmay be screwed into-the socket 51.

The lower end of the plungpr 53 is provided with a casing 56 of Bab ittmetal, glass,

porcelain or any 'othersnon-corrosive material, and there is at thebottom of the casing 7 a 'rojection. 57 similar to 4:8.of Fig. 6.

he carbon-placing .tool 42 is formed.- with aishanksimilar to the shankof the tamp'ing -teo1;;.and:fomhe same purpose. The main. 7 At the upperpart of he machine, 30'-30 ilified-. fogE- anyconvenient shape andpreferablyithere is drilled within the outer end as escribed.

" The turret. 39 may be rotated so that 'ltherthe tamping tool 41 or.the carbonplacin'g tool 42 is in operative position. In order to insurethatv these tools shall remain in this (position while'the machine isbeing operate two depressions 61 and 62 are provided diametricallyopposite the tampin and carbon-forming tools respectively. K steel pin63 is placed within a' hole 64 drilled through the upper portion of themovable headgtll. The pin isheld against the surface of 'the'turret orforced into the depressions therein by a spring 65, the tension: ofwhich. may be adjusted by the set screw 66 in the' upper end of hole 64.A .ring 67' may be attached tothe' adjusting art of the head to serve asa connection or a counterbalancing device such as afweight suspendedfrom a chain moving over a pulley, the purpose of this arrangement beingto hold normally the "head in its upper position.

In order that the head shall not, however, be withdrawn'from the machineby the counterbalancing weight, a stop .68 may be attached to y the topof one of the upright members 10 of the frame. I

Considering now the parts of the mechanism mounted below the base, thereis attached to the front and back of the members 12-12a pair ofcross-bars 70 which .serve as bearings for a stub-shaft 71 upon whichand between the members 70 is mounted a pinion 72. Upon the forward endof the stub-shaft is attached an operating lever 7 3.

The above described handle and pinion serve as a means for-operating!the device for ejecting the finished electrodes from the s mold, whichdevice will he ref'crred to hereinafter'simply as the ejectoi' Thepinion 72 engages a rack-bar 74 having atits lower end a. shaft 75passing throu h a bear-ins in crosspicce 13. At the upper end of. therack-bar 74 is a socket within which is fastened by a set screw 76 a lug77 formed at the bottom of the plunger 78 of the ejector. In order toinsure the engagement of the teeth of rack-bar 74 with the teeth thetampin; tool, the ejector. casing shouldbe made of some non-corrosivematerial such as Babbitt metal, glass or porcelain, for instance. Thediameter of the upper end of the ejector should be such as to fitclosely, but with a' sliding fit. within the aperture of the mold.'lVhile the electrode is being formed in the mold the. top of theejectorserves as the bottom of the mold.

The operator sits directly in front of the machine which is mounted atsuch a height that the handle T3 is about opposite his knees. \Vith theejector in its lowest position which corresponds to the horizontal p0-sition of the handle T the bottom of rackbar 74- rests upon cross-piecel3 and the top of the ejector will be within the mold and at a distancebelow the in'neredge of the funnel-shaped end of the mold a distanceequal to .or greater than the length of the electrode which is to heformed in the machine. The operator places someot' the active'n'iaterialinto the mold on top of the ejector and compresses it by moving thetamping tool up and down by means of the handle 36. it being:understood. of course, that in this operation the turret is set as shownin the drawings, namely. with the tamping. tool l-lin operativeposition. The

.active material is added in small quantities and compressed to aboutone-half its usual densitv, the" top thereof being, finally bro ght bouteven with the bottom of the tunnel of the mold. The projection 48 or 57,according to which form of tamping tool is used, will form a depressionon the top of the core oi active material.

It may here be. noted that the use of the tamping tool shown in Fig. 2prevents the operator from applying: more than a certain pressure-tocompress the active material, for

when this pressure is exceeded, the 's 'ning will yield, causing theplunger 53 to remain ina relatively fixed position while the other partsof the tool 50 and 52 move with respect thereto. Experienced operatorscan gage the pressure by the resistance at handle. 36, but. with thetool of Fig. 2 less experience and judgment is required. The upright rod17 acts as a stop to limit the downward movement of head 31 so that evenif the form of tamping tool shown in Fig. 6 is used, the tool can not belowered farther than the limit determined by the stop. v

When the tamping operation is completed, the mold will be filled withactive material having on its upper-surface a depression formed by theprojection at the bottom of the tamping tool. he operator now swingsthetur'rct so that the carbon-placing tool 42 comes into operativeposition. He then cen ters a carbon rod in thedepression at the.

top of the active mixture and lowers head 31" by means of handle 36until the upper end of the carbon rod passes into the recess 60" on theend of the carbon-placing tool. Guiding the carbon rod with his fingers,he gradually, lowers the head 31, which results in forcing the pencildown into the active material; It is sometimes of advantage to point therodat the end which enters the mixture in order to facilitate the aboveoperation. The carbon rod is also usually provided with a metallic capat its upper end which serves as a terminal of the finished battery Therecess 0 should therefore be large enough to receive this cap and mayhave a depth determined by the amount of the carbon rod that it isdesired shall project above the surface of the molded mix. The

bottom surface of the carbon placing tool (30 at the last part ofitsmovement compresses the mixture around the'carbon rod and levels the topof the core which is raised up during the operation of inserting thecarbon. On account of the head 31 coming in contact with the. stop 17,the downward motion of the carbon-placing tool is stopped at a pointwhen the carbon has penetrated the mixture sufiic'ently. By attaclhingthe rod 17 to the basen an adjustable manner and providing tools ofvarious lengths and with depressions of different depths, any degree ofadj ustment of the apparatus may be obtained. The position of the moldwithin the jig 16 may also, be altered, thereby giving another mode ofadjustment.

After the carbon rod has been inserted within the active material. head31 is raised, and the turret rotated through about 45 degrees so thatneither of the tools is above the mold. The handle 73' is then raisedwhich causes upward travel of the ejector to lift the finished electrodeout of the mold. The ejector is then lowered to normal posi: tion withinthe mold, and the turret is rotated to place'the tampins tool inposition t'ora subsequent operation.

The'finished electrode as it comes from the mold as above described isstrong enough to permit handling in the factory and can be wrapped witha. bibulous material such as cheese-cloth and can be assembled as thedisclosed, for instance, in Burgess Patent No. 1,1(32A49, dated November30, 1915.

Although I have above described in detail one embodiment of variousfeatures of my invention, it will be understood that variations indetail may be made and that changes in construction and in theproportion and: relation of the several parts may also be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

Haring thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. A tamp ing device for battery electrodes,comprising in combination, a mold, a movable member adjacent said mold,tool holding means mounted upon said member, a plurality of toolsdetachably secured to said means, mechanism. for operating said movablemember and thereby said tools, and means for ejecting the finishedproduct from said mold.

A tamping device for battery elecrodes, comprising in combination, amold, means associated with said mold and normally servin as a base forsaid mold, means for actuating said first-named means whereby theproduct formed in said mold maybe ejected therefrom, a movable memberadjacent said mold, tool-holding means mounted upon said member, aplurali y of tools dotachably secured to said means, and mechanism foroperating said movable member and thereby said tools.

means normally forming a bottom of said mold but adeptedto reciprocatetherein for ejecting the finished product trom said mold, andmeansfor-operating said lastnamed means. t

4. A device ofthe character described, comprising in combination a mold,a movableinember adjauont said mold, means for limiting the travel ofsaid movable member, tool-holding means rotatably mounted upon saidmember, a plurality of tools detachably secured to said means,andmechanism for operating said movable member and thereby said tools.

5., A -dev1ce of the character described, comprising in combination, a.frame, a mold,

means for detachably securing said mold to said frame, a movable memberadapted to reciprocate within said mold and normally forming the bottomof the mold, and means for actuating said reciprocating member wherebythe latter serves as an ejector't'or material in said mold.

6. A tamping device for battery electrodes, comprising in combination,a. tubular mold having a lining of non-corrosive material, a movablemember adjacent said mold, atamping tool mounted on said movable member,a casing of non-corrosive material about one end of said tool, anejector associated with said'mold and normally forming the bottomthereof, and acasing of noncorrosive material upon the end of saidejector formin the said bottom.

7. A machine of the class described, comprising in combination a movablemember, means for actuating said member, a turret-rotatably mounted uponsaid member, a plurality of sockets in said turret,-a' plurality ofdepressions on the peri hery of said turret, a pin mounted on-sai memberadapted to fit in said depressions, a spring,

for pressing said pin against the periphery of .said turret, and meansfor adjusting the tension of said spring.

8. A tamping tool comprising in combination a body portion, a shank atone end of said body portion for attaching said tool to a. ttml-holdcr.a casing of non-corrosive mate :rial surroumling the other end of saidbody portion and a projection at the end of said casing.

9. A tamping tool comprising a member formed with a shank at one end anda socket atthe other, a tubular member detachably plunger.

10. A mold of the character described, comprising a tubular casingformed with a funnel-shaped opening at one end thereof and a lining ofnon-corrosive material within said casing and extending over the Wallsof said opening.

In-- testimony whcreo f I atiix my signaturc.

, CARL HAM no n'Ul-IEN.

